Israel has right to defend itself Apply pressure to enemy

Posted: Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Ever since its creation in 1948, Israel has been in various stages of war with its neighbors - virtually all of whom at one time have professed their desire to wipe the nation off the face of the planet.

How, then, can it be that responsible world leaders insist that Israel restrain itself as it seeks to fend off the latest round of attacks from Hezbollah, one of the world's most notorious terrorist organizations?

Those leaders, meeting in Russia at their annual G-8 summit, say the onus is on Israel to pull its punches in this latest round of fighting.

Hold on! Israel didn't start this battle. The other side - financed by Syria and Iran - struck the first blow.

Moreover, it did so even after Israel withdrew unilaterally earlier this year from the Gaza Strip, territory it formerly occupied.

The Israelis are not the villains. They are defending themselves just as they have done for nearly six decades in search of a peaceful homeland in the Middle East.

The pressure needs applying at the source of this bloodshed, in Damascus and Tehran. Indeed, the Syrian defense minister has all but confessed that Iran and Syria have launched a coordinated "joint front against Israel's threats."

Threat? What theat?

The Israelis want to be left alone. They want to live peacefully among their neighbors. They want to be free to come and go without fear of rockets raining down on them from just across their borders.

Apparently, they cannot have that. Hezbollah and Hamas - the terrorists who now control the Palestinian Authority parliament - have started yet another fight.

Their sponsors in the nearby capitals of Damascus and Tehran have it within their power to stop this carnage right now.

As for the G-8's entreaties to Israel, it should crack down on the actual bad guys who have widened this conflict.